What If Harry Never Broke Up With Ginny
by Yeshevish man
Summary: After Dumbledore's funeral, Harry starts making plans to search for the horcruxes. But 1 thing doesn't go exactly how J. K. Rowling planned it to go. My first fic. Please read.
1. prologue: unsucsessful breakup

DISCLAIMER- the characters in this story are not mine, they are property of J. K. Rowling, as well as much of the dialogue in the beginning, which is taken from the half blood prince.

Harry watched as the centaurs and merpeople disappeared from view. It was then that he chose to look at Ginny Ron and Hermione, all still and quiet. Hermione was still crying, but Ginny was gazing at him in the way she had when they won the Quiditch Cup.

Then, he realized he had to do something that hurt him. He hoped that somehow, Ginny would agree quietly, and say goodbye, but he knew better than that.

"Ginny, listen…" he said quietly, "I can't be involved with you anymore. We've got to stop seeing each other. We can't be together."

She said, with an oddly twisted smile, "It's for some stupid, noble reason, isn't it?"

"It's been like… like something out of someone else's life, these few weeks with you," said Harry. "But I can't… we can't… I've got to do things alone right now. Voldemort uses people his enemies are close to. He's already used you as bait once, and that was because you're my best friend's sister. Think how much danger you'll be in if we keep this up. He'll know, he'll find out. He'll try to get to me through you."

It was then that Hermione spoke up. "Harry," She began, "I know you want to be with Ginny, why not take her with us when we go. . ." her voice trailed off, but her eyes seemed to say 'look for the horcruxes.' Harry had never thought of this. The possibilities of what he could do while Ginny was with them were great. Maybe, just Maybe…

"You're right Hermione," He replied at last, "We'll give her the choice."

"What choice?" Ginny asked. Harry could tell her heart was pounding at the chance to be with him all next year.

"Dumbledore. . . gave me a job to do." Harry began, "It will involve not coming to school next year, hiding out and dangers that may include sneaking right behind Voldemort's back. Is this something that you would be up to doing?"

"Yes!!" She replied, excitedly, "very much so."

"Good." Hermione said, a smug grin on her face, "Tell her about the horcruxes she has a right to know now."

Harry filled her in on all the details, including what a horcrux was, and how many there were.

"So you have the ring, and the diary taken care of." Ginny said, "But the others are still at large?"

"You might say that." Harry replied with a laugh, "although we don't know which one R.A.B's locket was switched for, but it may be another locket."

"Harry!"

Harry turned around to see Rufus Scrimgeour limping towards him. "Excuse me for a minute." He said, and scurried off in the minister of magic's direction.


	2. chaos at the burrow

(Note: This chapter takes place just as Harry's portkey arrives in the burrow in the 7th book, right after the chase.)

Harry stopped spinning and landed in the garden of the burrow. The first thing he saw was Ginny running towards him. He stood up, brushed himself up, and smiled at her. It was than he realized she had her wand pointed at him.

"Identify yourself!!" she screamed.

"I- uh- that is- what?!" he stammered.

"Um, what was the tattoo that everyone thought Harry Potter had on his chest last year?"

"Either a Hungarian horntail, or a hippogriff." he stated, meanwhile thinking to himself, "She had to check."

She flung her arms around him and started crying. "You're okay! You're okay!" She gasped in between sobs. It was then that a sinking feeling grasped him. Not everyone had returned. He put his arms around her, and held her. It was comforting to just hold her there. Her face buried in his torso. One hand placed on her back, and one in sweet smelling hair. He wanted to stay like this forever.

After a minute, (or it might have been an hour. Harry couldn't tell.) She looked up and said, "We've been betrayed. They somehow knew when you were being moved."

"I know." he sighed. "I was almost killed by no less than Voldemort himself."

"What!?!?" she exclaimed, jumping several feet.

"What!?!?" Mr. Weasley repeated, causing Harry to jump this time. "Oh, sorry." He said, sheepishly. "I didn't mean to surprise you."

Before Harry could answer, they saw a flash of blue light, and Lupin appeared, holding a blood covered, unconscious George. They all ran forward and helped Lupin carry him into the house. As they lay him down on the couch, Harry and Ginny both gasped. "His ear is- is- gone!" exclaimed Mr. Weasley.

Before they could get any explanation, Lupin grabbed Harry by the arm, and roughly pulled him into the kitchen.

"When Harry Potter first came to my office, what creature sat in the corner?" he said, shaking Harry. "Answer me!!"

"It was a grindylow tank, right?" Harry answered.

Lupin let out a sigh and relaxed his grip. "We've been betrayed." He said. "Voldemort knew that you were being moved tonight. I thought you might be an imposter."

"I realized." Harry answered dryly. "Voldemort caught up with me and almost killed me."

"VOLDEMORT CAUGHT UP WITH YOU?!?!" Lupin screamed. "How!?!?"

"I-I tried to disarm Stan Shunpike." Harry admitted, suddenly wishing he were somewhere else "He's not-"

"Harry, disarming is the past. If you're not ready to kill at least stun him."

"We were in the middle of the air. It wouldn't have mattered if I had used Avada Kadavra, or stunned him. He would have fallen hundreds of feet!"

"Look Harry," Lupin sighed, "expeliarmus is a useful spell, but the Death Eaters seem to think it's your signature move. Don't let it become that."

Another flash of blue light announced the arrival of Kingsley and Hermione, both clutching a bent coat hanger. Kingsley pointed his wand at Lupin and asked, "What were the last words that Dumbledore said to the pair of us!"

"Harry is the best hope we have, trust him." Lupin answered calmly. Kingsley switched his wand point to Harry, but Lupin stopped him. "I've checked him already." he stated simply.

"Where's George?" Hermione asked.

"He's lost an ear," Lupin answered. "Snapes work."

"Snape!" Harry exclaimed. "You never said-"

"His hood came off during the chase." Lupin continued, seemingly ignoring Harry's outburst, "Sectumsempra was always his specialty."

A thestral was heard overhead, and Bill and Fleur swooped down into the garden. They both looked as though they had seen a Bogart.

"What happened to you?" Ron asked.

"We missed the portkey, and had to fly here." Bill answered, still shaking, "We had to fly here through the death eaters again. It was horrible."

A flash of blue light announced Mad Eye Moody and Mundungus Fletcher. Moody was holding his wand at Mundungus and screaming, "…AND IF YOU MAKE ONE MORE MOVE, YOU'LL WISH YOU WERE NEVER BORN-"he stopped short and noticed his surroundings, "Oh, we're here." He said simply, relaxing his grip on Mundungus.

"Well aren't you all a bunch of bleeding-"Mundungus started.

"IF YOU ASK, YOU'LL FIND NO ONE ELSE TRIED TO APPARATE!" Moody screamed, his face turning several shades of red.

"You tried to apparate?" Hermione asked with a disapproving look.

"Almost did," Moody replied, "And if I hadn't stopped him, he would have been dead meat."

"Could everyone please stop arguing and come inside." Mrs. Weasley asked gently. She seemed to have some magic touch since it worked. One by one everyone piled in, and gathered around in the kitchen. Lupin got up in the front, (If you could call it that,) and made the following speech.

"It seems that Voldemort has found out when we were moving Harry. This is information that would have been impossible for anyone to know without being in the order. I ask, does anyone remember anything, of any signs that they were confunded, or tortured, to give this crucial information away." He looked around the room at everybody. Not one person looked in his eyes. "I will give you some time, but I must know soon, or we may be in greater danger than we already are."

After much struggle, Mrs. Weasley finally persuaded everyone to leave, and Tonks, Lupin, Kingsley, Hagrid, Madeye, and Mundugus, all left and the house became somewhat quiet. Ron and Hermione went off somewhere, and Mrs. Weasley was getting things together for the wedding. No one knew where Mr. Weasley had gone, but Harry thought he heard him say something about 'working in the shed' on a 'new invention.' George had been taken up to his room, and could be heard talking with Fred about what he later said, 'was business.' Only Harry and Ginny remained in the kitchen.

"Harry," Ginny said, walking over to him, "Do you want to go for a walk with me?"

"Sure," he answered, taking her hand in his. "Let's go."


	3. getting ready to leave

Harry looked around at the beautiful scenery. Vines ran up and down the trunks of the tall trees on either side of the path. Flowers were growing underneath their branches, decorating the path like paper chains. There was a great assortment of animals, which ran around, frolicking merrily in the grass. It felt good to be here, especially with Ginny, who was being very open with conversation.

"So George said to mum, 'but I thought you said to beat the rug.' And we all burst out laughing." She was saying.

"Reminds me of the time Dudley was caught taking donuts from the fridge," Harry laughed, "he had tried to explain by saying, 'but you said I could have a snack!' Uncle Vernon got so mad, that he grounded him for 2 days, which is a long time for Dudley."

They continued trading funny stories, laughing, and altogether having a good time. After what seemed like a few minutes, they reached a large clearing. "Well this is it." Ginny announced proudly, "Sit down on the bench here." She pointed to a stone bench in the middle of the clearing. They sat down, and Ginny immediately put her head on Harry's shoulder. He leaned his head onto the spot she had hers, and put his arm around her. It felt good to be sitting with her, holding her, loving her. It was as if there was nothing else in the world but her. No war, no Voldemort, no horcruxes. Nothing but the two of them, just sitting there.  
After about five minutes, Ginny broke the silence. "Harry, isn't your birthday in four days?" She asked him.

"Your right," he answered, "I totally forgot." Wow! He thought. Seventeen…

"So, do you know when we're leaving to get the horcruxes?" She asked. Her words hit Harry like an arrow; fast and vicious. He hadn't thought about the horcruxes at all since last year. Now they would be needing to go in only a few days.

"I actually don't know." He admitted.

"Oh well." She said. "But have you any idea where they are at least?"

"Nope," She seemed to be asking all the wrong questions.

"Oh." She seemed a bit disappointed at not finding out any information. Nonetheless, she put her arms around him again, and kissed him.

It was at that time precisely, that Ron came running towards them. "Sorry to break you two up, but mum wants you." He said, breathlessly. "The Delecours are coming, and she needs help getting ready." He turned and ran back down the path.

"We better get going." Ginny said, "When mum calls, she means business." She stood up, and stretched. "Besides," she added, "The four of us should talk about plans for getting the horcruxes." And together, they started back down the path.

...

"What I don't get" said Ron, "Is why you insist on bringing so many books." They had just finished supper, and the four of them, Ron, Ginny, Harry and Hermione, were crowded into Ron's room, packing for the trip. Hermione had a large pile of books, and was deciding which ones to take with them.

"Do you know if we will need to translate runes?" she asked, ignoring Ron and looking down at _Spellman's Syllabry_.

"Hermione," Harry said, "You do know that we need space to-"He stopped when she lowered a pile of 20 books neatly into her handbag. "Hermione," he said, "What did you do to your bag?"

"Undetectable extension charm" She answered, weighing Hogwarts, a history in her hand. "You know, I think I will take Hogwarts, a History even if we aren't going back there," She said, throwing it onto a pile.  
"You think of everything, Hermione." Ginny laughed.

"Thank you," Hermione answered, and promptly returned to packing. "A History of Magic, Standard Book of Spells," she muttered, "Monster Book of Monsters, No!" She exclaimed, throwing it behind her. It immediately opened, and grabbed onto Ron's ankle.

"OW! OW!" he yelled, "Get it OFF of me!!"

"Sorry, sorry," Hermione apologized, yanking it off and closing it. "That's why I didn't want to-"she suddenly stopped as someone knocked at the door.

"Who's there," Ron called.

"It's Fred." Fred answered, "Mum said to turn out the light and go to sleep."

"I'll finish packing tomorrow," Hermione said and left the room with Ginny."

"G'nite Harry," Ron said, and shut the light.


	4. from arivals and packing

Harry was busy wolfing down breakfast by the time the girls came down. Fred and George were busy discussing orders for Weasley Wizard Wheezes, obviously trying to hide something from their mother. Ron, who had already finished breakfast, was enjoying the last tastes of his eggs and bacon. Mrs. Weasley was briskly running about the kitchen getting breakfast together for the late comers, all the while talking out loud to no one in particular, about nothing being ready for the guests who were to be arriving that day. Bill and Fleur were already off, putting together the decorations for the wedding. Everything, Harry thought to himself, seemed perfect.

It was at that moment that Mr. Weasley came in, saw the commotion and remarked, "Ah, home sweet home," to which he was greeted by the twins, Ron, and Ginny, with a "Hello dad."

"Hello, hello," he responded happily, "it's so good to be back, especially since it's been so hectic at work today. 5 attacks on muggles and the minister seems to care nothing about it. Just stays locked up in his office all day doing god knows what." He sat down and helped himself to some eggs from the pan. He took a big mouthful, realized it was too hot, and immediately spit it back out.

"I'm so sorry dear," Mrs. Weasley said, handing her husband a glass of water, "I should have warned you it had just come off the stove."

'That's quite all right Molly," he said, taking a big drink, "I should be okay." He glanced over at the twins, who were at the moment, in fits of laughter. It took him several tries to calm him down. Finally the chaos subsided, and everyone returned to eating.

One by one, everyone finished and left, until only Harry, Ron, the twins, and Mr. Weasley were left. Mr. Weasley finished clearing off the table, dusted himself off, and asked, "So, will you boys help me finish up the ghoul?"

"Sorry," said Harry, "but what are you doing to the ghoul?"

"It's really quite simple," Ron told him, starting up the stairs "when we go off to do you-know-what, we are going to need an alibi for me not being at Hogwarts. So," he said, just as they all walked into the attic, "we've been working on this." He pointed at the ghoul, who was wearing pajamas, and had grown a full head of red hair. It was covered from head to toe in nasty purple blisters.

"I don't get it." Harry said blankly.

"He's supposed to be me!" Ron said, obviously annoyed that Harry hadn't figured that out. "He's supposed to be me with Spatergroit. It's quite contagious, so they won't examine the body that much."

They set to work, transfiguring the last of the features of the ghoul. After a half an hour, they stood back and admired their work.

It was Mr. Weasley who broke the silence. "Well boys," he said, "that was good work. You're free for the rest of today."

"If mum doesn't catch us." Ron muttered to Harry, "If she does, we'll be free by next year."

They tiptoed down the stairs, and out the door. Once outside, they ran out to the garden to play quiditch.

"Hey, Harry," Ron started, 'wait till I show you this knew move I learned from Charlie. It's really-"

"Oh there you boys are," Mrs. Weasley said, coming out of nowhere in particular. "I could really use your help getting things together for the Delacours. They're arriving in three hours."

"There goes our free day, and year," Ron muttered.

"And you Ronald," Mrs. Weasley said, turning to him, "Your room is a pigsty."

"So?" Ron said challengingly

"So we're holding your brothers wedding in a few days." She replied.

"AND ARE THEY GETTING MARRIED IN MY ROOM?" he screamed, "NO! SO WHY IN THE NAME OF MERLINS MOST BAGGY Y FRONTS-"

"Watch your temper Ronald." She scolded.

"Yah Ronald," Fred teased, "Your language is-"

"Shut it Fred." Ron muttered, tramping off to his room. Harry started to follow him. But Mrs. Weasley held up her hand.

"He's very capable of cleaning his room himself, Harry dear," she said more gently, "Could you help me prepare the guestroom for the Delacours?"

"Um… well, that is… um." He stumbled.

"Excellent!" Mrs. Weasley beamed. "Follow me." And with no choice Harry followed her into the house.

After what seemed like hours, the house was ready for the guests. Harry was relaxing with Ginny in the living room, talking and telling jokes. He felt like he could go on like this forever.

However, it wasn't long before the Delacours arrived, and everyone went out to meet them.

"Maman! Papa!" Fleur exclaimed in delight, running over to hug both of her parents. Gabriel stood shyly behind them, staring at the ground. Hermione walked over to her, and started talking in rapid French. Immediately finding that she had a friend, Gabriel replied, and they launched into conversation.

After a few minutes of chat, Mrs. Weasley decided they had been out long enough. "Do come inside," she insisted ushering them in, "it's much more comfortable in there." After many pleases, thank you's, after you's, and no's, they all managed to get inside the kitchen.

"Fred, George," Mrs. Weasley commanded in a strong authoritative voice, "bring the Delacours things upstairs. Arthur, please remove your 'work' from the lawn." She said the word work, as if it were something disgusting.

Harry, Ginny, Ron and Hermione, slowly backed up and ran upstairs. They rushed into Ron's room, and quickly shut the door.

"That was close." Ron panted heavily. "Maybe we should take up jogging as a second sport- we might be good."

"Second sport?" Ginny asked him.

"Yah," he answered, "besides quiditch." He plopped a handful of Bertie Bott's Every Flavored Beans in his mouth and quickly spat them out. Hermione and Ginny rolled on the floor laughing, while Harry tried to help Ron clean up the mess. It took them a few minutes for the chaos to subside, and then everybody resumed packing. The room was actually quiet for once as they all placed their things in their bags. Harry started thinking about all the time they could spend together when they left. The fun he could have with Ginny, the adventures they all would go on, he even looked forward to revisiting Grimauld Place. (If they could get in there.) He was so engrossed in his thoughts, he didn't notice that Ron had left the room.

It was at that moment, that Ron burst into the room and shouted, "Charlie's here! C'mon down everyone."

Harry dropped what he was doing and ran downstairs to see Mrs. Weasley, wand raised threateningly at Charlie, announcing she was going to give him a proper haircut. It wasn't much of a welcome, but it sure was funny.

After the chaos subsided, (and Charlie had much shorter hair) everyone returned to what they were doing. Harry started to head upstairs, but Ginny stopped him.

"Want to come for a walk?" she asked him. "you can pack later." She added, seeing the hesitant look on his face.

"Sure." He answered with a smile. "Let's go." And together, they walked out the door.


End file.
